| Institution: | 1. Tropical Palaeoenvironments Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Wales, Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales;2. Tropical Palaeoenvironments Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Wales, Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales
Biogeochemistry Research Centre, Department of Earth Sciences, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, England;3. The Herbarium, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth SY23 2AX, Wales;4. Biogeochemistry Research Centre, Department of Earth Sciences, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, England |
| Abstract: | Woody, subalpine shrubs and grasses currently surround Lake Rutundu, Mount Kenya. Multiple proxies, including carbon isotopes, pollen and grass cuticles, from a 755‐cm‐long core were used to reconstruct the vegetation over the past 38 300 calendar years. Stable carbon‐isotope ratios of total organic carbon and terrestrial biomarkers from the lake sediments imply that the proportion of terrestrial plants using the C4 photosynthetic pathway was greater during the Late Pleistocene than in the Holocene. Pollen data show that grasses were a major constituent of the vegetation throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The proportion of grass pollen relative to the pollen from other plants was greatest at the last glacial maximum (LGM). Grass cuticles confirm evidence that C4 grass taxa were present at the LGM and that the majority followed the cold‐tolerant NADP‐MEC4 subpathway. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
